World Cup 2018: England and Scotland drawn together
Last updated on .From the section Football
England and Scotland have been drawn in the same group for qualification for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The two sides will also face Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta and Lithuania in Group F after the draw in St Petersburg.
Wales - aiming to reach their first finals since 1958 - are top seeds in Group D and will also play Republic of Ireland.
Northern Ireland will play World Cup holders Germany in Group C, while Spain and Italy meet in Group G.
In another tough group, the Netherlands were drawn with France and Sweden.
The winner of each of the nine European groups qualify automatically alongside hosts Russia, with the best eight runners-up entering the play-offs in November 2017.
In total, 141 teams were drawn in Saturday's ceremony. Read the full draw from across the world here.
| Who the home nations will play |
|---|
| Group C: Germany, Czech Republic, NORTHERN IRELAND, Norway, Azerbaijan, San Marino |
| Group D: WALES, Austria, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Moldova, Georgia |
| Group F: ENGLAND, Slovakia, SCOTLAND, Slovenia, Lithuania, Malta |
| See the complete draw here |
England will face Scotland at Wembley on Friday, 11 November 2016, with the return game in Scotland to be played on Saturday, 10 June 2017.
England and Scotland last met in two friendlies in the 2013-14 season, with Roy Hodgson's side winning 3-2 at Wembley and 3-1 at Celtic Park.
Their last competitive meeting was a two-legged play-off for Euro 2000, which England won 2-1 on aggregate.
Scotland boss Gordon Strachan said: "Just as the sun came out in Glasgow, we heard we will play England.
"I can see why the fans are celebrating, it's a fantastic fixture.
"The last time the two sides met England stepped it up a gear and it was a fantastic lesson - they pressurise you and you make mistakes and that's something that sticks with us - and I hope will stick with us to fire us on.
"The good thing from the supporters' point of view is there are no ridiculous journeys."
England manager Roy Hodgson, whose current contract runs until the end of Euro 2016, also believes that the tie will intrigue supporters on both sides of the border.
He told BBC Radio 5 live: "The Scotland fixture really excite people, the recent friendly matches showed that, and we have got recent experience of what the atmosphere will be like. The games will excite the public, get people in the mass media excited too, it is a good draw all round - I think Scotland will be happy with it and we are happy with it.
"It is a great honour to be England manager - I shall be delighted to retain that position all the time people want me too, but it won't occupy my thoughts at this point in time.
"I'm pleased to come away with a good group and if England want me to lead the team I will be delighted to do so."
Wales and the Republic of Ireland were in the same qualifying group for the Euro 2008 finals, with Stephen Ireland giving Ireland a 1-0 win in Dublin before a 2-2 draw in Cardiff.
Wales manager Chris Coleman told BBC Radio 5 live: "We've really improved in the last three years. We fancy ourselves against anyone. You look at other groups - it could have been easier or tougher. There's a lot of football to go in the Euro 2016 qualifiers before this.
"This has been the biggest honour of my career. My sole focus is on leading my country to France. After that I'll look at what's next.
"We've had a bit of fun being in pot one. It's new for us. We've really enjoyed it."
In the afternoon's earlier global draws 20 preliminary ties in Africa were organised, the order of matches in South America decided and groups in both the Concacaf and Oceania federations resolved.
Read the full draw from across the world here.
